Abstract
Knowledge about adenoviruses in birds of the order Passeriformes is very scarce. Based on molecular characterizations, only two siadenoviruses, great tit adenovirus 1 and Gouldian finch adenovirus, have been described so far occurring in great tits and Gouldian finches, respectively. Assuming a broader occurrence of adenoviruses, various passeriform birds including pet, zoo, and wild birds were examined using a broad-range PCR targeting a fragment of the adenovirus DNA polymerase gene. Adenoviruses were detected in 25 individual birds belonging to 13 species and seven zoological families (Ploceidae, Fringillidae, Estrildidae, Paridae, Sylviidae, Turdidae, Muscicapidae). The putative viruses were further characterized by sequencing the PCR products and phylogenetic analyses. DNA of adenoviruses affiliating to 3 genera including aviadenovirus, siadenovirus, and atadenovirus was found. Viruses with sequences identical or closely related to great tit adenovirus 1 and Gouldian finch adenovirus 1 were detected in a great tit and in two zebra finches, respectively. Based on polymerase amino acid sequence comparisons, the viruses found in the remaining 22 birds revealed phylogenetic distances larger than 15% to adenoviruses known so far suggesting that they may belong to at least 14 different virus species. In some bird species (great tit, zebra finch, vitelline masked weaver) varying adenovirus genera were detected. These results suggest a broad variety of adenoviruses circulating in passeriform birds.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Dana Härtner, Johannes Stadler and Miriam Schiller for excellent technical assistance.
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MR conceived and designed the experiments. MR, AS, and NB performed the experiments. MR analyzed the data. MR wrote the manuscript. AS, NB, and RK participated in revising the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Online resource 1
Pairwise genetic distance matrix of aviadenoviruses based on partial polymerase amino acid sequences. Genetic distances (%) were estimated using MEGA X and the Poisson correction model. This analysis involved 18 amino acid sequences. A total of 91 positions was included in the final dataset. The analysis included putative viruses presented in this investigation (printed in bold) and representatives of all recognized aviadenovirus species for which respective sequences were available (GenBank accession numbers are given in brackets). Pairwise genetic distances <5% are marked in light grey, and pairwise genetic distances between 5% and 15% are marked in dark grey. (DOCX 22 kb)
Online resource 2
Pairwise genetic distance matrix of siadenoviruses based on partial polymerase amino acid sequences. Genetic distances (%) were estimated using MEGA X and the Poisson correction model. This analysis involved 19 amino acid sequences. A total of 91 positions was included in the final dataset. The analysis included putative viruses presented in this investigation (printed in bold) and representatives of all recognized siadenovirus species for which respective sequences were available (GenBank accession numbers are given in brackets). Pairwise genetic distances <5% are marked in light grey, and pairwise genetic distances between 5% and 15% are marked in dark grey. (DOCX 20 kb)
Online resource 3
Pairwise genetic distance matrix of atadenoviruses based on partial polymerase amino acid sequences. Genetic distances were estimated using MEGA X and the Poisson correction model. This analysis involved 17 amino acid sequences. A total of 91 positions was included in the final dataset. The analysis included putative viruses presented in this investigation (printed in bold) and representatives of all recognized atadenovirus species for which respective sequences were available (GenBank accession numbers are given in brackets). Pairwise genetic distances <5% are marked in light grey, and pairwise genetic distances between 5% and 15% did not occur. (DOCX 20 kb)
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Rinder, M., Schmitz, A., Baas, N. et al. Molecular identification of novel and genetically diverse adenoviruses in Passeriform birds. Virus Genes 56, 316–324 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11262-020-01739-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11262-020-01739-3